Is This Hope?
by Xeleria
Summary: Makarov decides that the best way to challange the guild in preperation for the S-Class exams is to mix-up the established teams. What happens when Lucy is thrown into a team with a closed off rune mage and a overly hyper solid script mage? What adventures will they experience, adn what relationships will grow?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Let's Mix it Up!**

Lucy loved sitting in the guild hall watching everything. She was watching a fight that was starting to heat up when Mira came up to Lucy with one of her world-famous strawberry milkshakes. Lucy gave a her an award-winning smile and began to sip on her milkshake. Today was a day for her to sit back and do absolutely nothing. Team Natsu had just gotten back from a long mission and she needed to relax for a day before the hotheaded mage dragged her out on another ridiculous mission. Erza was following suit by staying in her room at Fairy Hills. Lucy looked around the guild hall and began to look at the relationships that had begun to form. They had defeated Xeref and Acnologia about three years prior, and in that time so much had happened. Jellal and the rest of Crime Sorcerie had been given amnesty. Because of this, the former guild members decided to split up and join legal guilds. Jellal and Cobra had joined Fairytail. The remaining members decided to join Sabertooth.

Lucy watched Jellal order two servings of strawberry cake before discreetly leaving the guild. She chuckled to herself knowing that the heavenly body mage was about to drop in on a sweet loving redhead. Next her eyes drifted to Gajeel, Levy, and the bundle of pure energy that was being protected between them. They had been an official couple for a while, but what had surprised everyone was how a single year after the fall of Xeref and Acnologia Levy had become pregnant. They ended up having a little girl named Lexi with Levy's blue hair and Gajeel's red eyes. She had quickly become the joy of the guild; her first birthday having passed not that long ago. Lucy gave the family a warm smile before drifting her eyes up to the second floor to watch a tall and brooding lightning dragon slayer. After the scare with his grandfather he had begun to take his role at the guild more seriously, helping Makarov in any way that was possible. At the same time Mirajane had been trying to get the thick-headed slayers attention. Lucy chuckled a little at the thought of someone not seeing all the glaringly obvious signs Mirajane had attempted. Next on her list was to check-in on the odd couple, Elfman and Evergreen. When her gaze drifted to them all she could see was a very upset Evergreen whacking Elfman with her fan. Lucy shook her head and was about to return to her milkshake when Makarov wheeled himself to the edge of the second-floor railing. His voice boomed over the guild ceasing all talk and fighting.

"ALRIGHT BRATS! Listen up! It's that time of year again where we travel to Tenroujima and conduct our S-Cass trails. The trails themselves will be in one months' time. Because of how I'm having the trails preformed this year, all current teams will be split up."

Gasps could be heard throughout the guild. It took a moment for everyone to collect themselves enough for Makarov to continue.

"That right! All official teams are being temporarily split up. You'll still be in teams, just not your original ones. For the next month your task is to show me who is the most adaptable with new teams. The people who impress me the most will be the candidates for the S-Class trails this year. Now listen up so I can callout the new teams!"

Everyone was deathly silent while Makarov began to call out names. Each team was made up of three or four people. With only one or two having less. Lucy zoned out until she heard her name called.

"Alright here's the last six teams. We have Lucy, Levy and Freed in a team. Next up is Mira and Laxus. Then it is Evergreen, Elfman, and Erza. Natsu, Wendy, Happy and Charla. Gajeel, Pantherlily, Grey, and Juvia. Lastly is Cana, Lisanna, and Bickslow. I want each team to decide on a leader and then have them come to me with your temporary team names."

At that Makarov turned around and wheeled himself back into his office to wait for his children to recover. Lucy quickly grabbed her milkshake and walked her way up to the second floor where a frazzled Freed was sitting, Levy was not far behind her. Everyone else in the guild was doing something similar by gathering up in their new teams. Lucy sat down next to Freed and Levy sat on his opposite side. She gave another of her award-winning smiles and started to happily talk to Levy and Freed.

"Well that was unexpected! I never thought Master would ever split up the teams like that."

"Me either Lulu! Though I'm not too mad about it since I'm paired up with you."

"Even though Gajeel is on a completely different team?"

"Its probably for the best. Though I'll need to work with him to make sure theres always one of us in Magnolia. There may be times where I can't go on a mission. I don't want to leave Lexi alone."

"Well duh! Lexi's too precious for a babysitter. So back to the teams and everything who's going to be the leader?"

"Oh Lulu, it definably cannot be me! I can't lead Lexi let alone you guys! I think you guys should play rock paper scissors for it. I think you both would be super awesome as team leader."

Lucy let out a light chuckle right as Freed snapped out of his shock at the mention of a game to determine their team leader. Lucy gave her focus back onto the subject at hand, giving her opinion on it.

"Actually Levy-chan, I really don't want to be team leader. Erza was technically team Natsu's leader and I don't think I could do that. Freed, what do you think?"

"Well Ms. Lucy, Ms. Levy. To be perfectly honest I'm in the same boat as both of you. Laxus always took charge with the Raijinshuu, so none of us got any actual leadership training."

"What about when he went solo, I know he did that a lot. What did you guys do then?"

"Well we voted on decisions. There was never a leader per se if Laxus wasn't there. I guess you could call be the closest to being second in charge though."

Levy and Lucy looked to each other with a smirk and both spoke in unison.

"Then it's decided! You're our team leader Freed." Levy broke away as Lucy continued, smirking at Freed's reaction. "So, team leader, what's our team name going to be. I vote for it to NOT be team Freed."

"I could not agree with you more Ms. Lucy.

Levy and Lucy both began to crack up again, getting obvious joy from the predicament they were all in.

"Well Lulu you're the writer here. Maybe you should make our team name!"

"Ms. Levy I think you have a wonderful idea. Ms. Lucy I believe you are the most suited to creativity here."

"On one condition. Drop the Miss this and Miss that. Makes me feel like I'm back at the Heartfilia Kozern."

"Very well… Lucy."

"Same here Freed. Just call me Levy. That miss stuff makes me feel old."

Freed blanched at the comment and Lucy laughed lightly as her mind began to think of possible team names. After a few minutes her face lit up and she began to lightly hop in her seat.

"Oh guys! I got it. What about The Scholars? I mean Levy you have your Soild Script magic, Freed Rune magic is your primary magic, and even though I'm a Celestial mage I know a lot of translation skills. No one else on team Natsu took the time to learn."

Freed and Levy looked at each other and nodded before Freed stood up.

"Well I do believe we have our name. I'll go inform Master then we can possibly look at some jobs that fit our skill set."

Lucy and Levy smiled and nodded while Freed walked away from the group. Lucy continued to slurp on her milkshake while they waited for Makarov's approval. Levy had quickly buried herself back into her book. Lucy began to think of all the types of jobs that fit their skill sets. They could do translation jobs, and jobs requesting runes. But at the same time doing only those types of jobs would get boring. Lucy tapped on her chin as she thought about it. They could also do ruin excavations and exploration. It wouldn't be too far of a stretch. Her head was starting to hurt when Freed returned with a couple of different job fliers in hand.

"Master approved of our name, as for jobs here are a couple that I believe would maximize our skills." He placed the four fliers on the table as he described each one. "The first is a translation job in the next town over. It would be beyond easy for our group and has a high payout at seven million jewels. The second job is in the same city as the first job and is to use a magical text to locate an ancient ruin. Apparently, the text has some sort of decoding that is needed in order to read it properly and the city's scholars have been unsuccessful. The payout for that job is a little less than the translation job at only five and a half million jewel. The third job is in Hargeon and requires documenting glyphs in an underwater ruin. The payout is room and board, plus six million jewel and a silver gate key. Lastly, we have a job in Crocus that includes that cataloging of new material in the royal library. This is the one with the largest payout at seven and a half jewel. We could effectively do all of them since all of the mages capable of doing them are in this group."

Lucy's jaw dropped at the amounts stated on the fliers. It took her a minute to recollect her thoughts.

"Do translation jobs normally pay this much?"

"Not usually Lulu. Most translation jobs are closer to the one to two thousand jewel range."

"That is correct Levy. However, Master is still allowing all members of the Raijinshuu to complete S-Class missions if it is within the skill of the team they are on. Some people specifically request for their mission to be labeled as S-Class with a higher payout if they feel it will garnish them a better result. This happens quite often with translation and decoding jobs. Hence why you have the two extremes on payouts."

"Oh wow, that's good to know. As for what mission I would like to do, I think its pretty obvious. The one in Hargeon had a reward item of a gate key. Also, I'm sort of broke so room and board is nice."

"Yeah that is a cool looking one Lulu, but I really like the idea of working in the Crocus Royal Library. Even if it is just for a moment or two."

Freed pushed the two mentioned job fliers forward just a little before he made his own comment.

"These are most appeasing of the two jobs listed. If I personally had to choose between them, I would have to agree with you Levy, however since we are the only ones capable of completing these jobs, I suggest we accept both."

"Um, can we though? I thought we could only do one mission at a time."

"There is no stated rule about that. The Raijinshuu usually takes two to three missions at one time as long as they are close together. Miss Mira just holds the flier and does not contact the employer until the first is completed."

Lucy shrugged and looked at Levy. Levy's face was light up with excitement at the prospect of working in the Royal Library.

"Oh Lulu, lets do them both! The worst that can really happen is we stay away from Magnolia a little longer than expected. I mean these jobs have to do with documenting and cataloging. Theres no danger."

Lucy finally gave in with a laugh. She was still nervous about accepting two jobs at one time, but at the end of the day Levy was right. The worst that could realistically happen was a paper cut.

"Okay I guess your right, theres no real harm."

"Very well. I'll go inform Mira. We'll do the mission in Crocus first since we have a better idea of what we are getting ourselves into. It will probably be best to leave tomorrow that way we are all well rested."

Levy and Lucy gave an excited nod while Freed went to go inform Mirajane of their plans. Secretly Lucy was overjoyed that Freed had said they were leaving the next day. She still wanted to relax before her next mission. After a few minutes Freed returned to the table. Gajeel and Wendy ended up following the green haired mage up. The group began to talk and goof off as they day went on. After a couple of hours, the rest of the Raijinshuu joined them. At some point Bickslow challenged Wendy to a cake eating contest and lost. Lucy laughed as Wendy got to smear icing all over the seith mage's face, or at least what was exposed of it. Laxus chuckled along with them and told Bickslow he should have known better than to challenge a dragonslayer to a food eating contest.

"But Boss she's just a kid. I should have won!"

"Well obviously you didn't, and now you have icing all over your face. That by the way made my day."

Everyone, including Bickslow, burst out laughing. Slowly people began to call it a night. Lucy hadn't realized how late it had already gotten. She excused herself as well and headed home, a nice warm bath calling her name.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Let's Go to the Hot Springs!**

Freed, Lucy, and Levy had made quick work of the cataloging mission in Crocus. When they arrived the master librarian ushered them into a room stacked floor to ceiling with books. The had informed the team that they only had to do one thing with the books in that room, deem if the texts were magical in nature. The trio started right away, both Levy and Lucy pulling out a pair of gale-force glasses. Freed shook his head at the two females and picked up the book closest to him. It just so happened to be a book he recognized. He took a moment to appreciate the quality of the book in his hand before gently placing it in a pile. After he did so he turned to the others and spoke.

"I believe the best way to do this is to put all of the magical texts on one side of the room, and the regular reading on the other. "

"Yeah that's a pretty good idea. Just don't forget to open the books. I found that out the hard way on my first mission with Natsu. We were tasked with destroying a book, but thankfully I opened it and saw it was enchanted. The guy ended up keeping the book instead."

"Oh yeah! I remember you telling me about that mission Lulu."

Freed nodded his head and picked the book he had just placed down back up, opening the cover. He flipped through a few of the pages but did not sense any magical residue from the text, so he returned it back to the floor right next to him. Lucy smiled seeing the rune mage take her advice before continuing with the book in her hand. The team took a total of four days to sort very book in the room into two distinct groups. Once they had done that Lucy took a moment to alphabetize them that way, they were not just laying around hap hazard. It took the group considerably less time, only about two hours, to fully alphabetize the books in the room. When they were done they headed to the master librarian for him to go over their completed work. It took a moment for the librarian to look around, but after about five minutes he smirked and told them they had successfully completed the job, plus some. The master librarian led the group out of the room and to his office, where he handed Freed their reward and bid them safe travels.

The trio thanked the master librarian before leaving the Royal Library and returning to their hotel room. They ended up only reserving a single room with a double bed. Lucy and Levy shared a bed on the few times both were there at the same time, while Freed had the other to himself. The group didn't see any reason to waste jewel on an extra room when there was usually only one or two people there at any given time. When they finally got back to the hotel room Lucy went over to her bag and pulled out her swimsuit.

"Do we have time to visit the hotel's hot spring before we leave for Hargeon?"

"I want to go too! Come on Freed it would be fun!"

"I don't see why not. It is close to dinner time anyway. I would think it unwise to depart to Hargeon before we have eaten and rested."

The two females squeeled and Levy ran to her bag to grab her swimsuit. Lucy let her change first while she hunted down her hair ties.

"Your going to come with us though, right?"

"I have to inform Mira we completed the mission then by all means I will find my way down there."

"Oh, when you talk to her tell her hi for me."

Freed shook his head lightly and grabbed the communication lacrima from his bag. As he did that Levy had finished changing and Lucy took her turn in the bathroom. It only took her a minute or two to change into her swimsuit. The celestial mage had decided to pack her strapless one-piece swimsuit. The swimsuit itself was a solid dark navy blue, however she paired it with a sheer navy blue cover that had silver stars on it. The cover tied around her waist and helped retain her modesty. Lucy looked at herself once over in the mirror before pulling her waist length hair into a messy bun. Once she was satisfied that her hair wouldn't get wet, she smiled and exited the bathroom to go back over to her bag. She pulled out a pair of navy blue wedge flip flops and slipped them on, then grabbed a white hotel towel and draped it over her shoulder. Once she was ready, she looked at Levy with a bright smile.

"Ready to go Levy-chan?"

"Almost! I just have to figure out where I put my stupid flip flops."

Freed had just finished his call with Mira and pulled out his own swim suit, stopping at the door to the bathroom before he addressed the other two mages in the room.

"Well I may just be changed by the time you find them, then it saves us from wondering where the other is."

"Well hurry up, we will still leave you to enjoy one extra minute in the blissful heat that is a hot spring."

"I would expect nothing less Lucy."

When he closed the door Levy looked at Lucy with a mischievous smirk.

"You wouldn't actually leave him here would you?"

"Nah, and I think he knows it too."

"You know. He is sort of cute."

"Levy! Your married."

"Just because I have a ring on my finger doesn't mean I don't have eyes. Besides you're still single. Its time you at least dated a little."

"Come on Levy, you know that I don't have time for all that. I have to do way too many missions just to stay afloat."

"Not for the next month. I'm pretty sure you'll have a pretty sweet savings after this month is over. You know since theres no destructive Natsu making the reward almost nothing."

"True."

"So admit it! He is super cute."

"Okay! Okay! You win Freed is quite attractive, and smart."

"Uh-huh. I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"Well as Happy would say: You Liiiiiiike him!"

"LEVY!"

"Well I'm not wrong Lulu."

As their playful banter continued, little did Lucy or Levy know that Freed could hear every word that they said. A deep crimson swept across his cheeks as he pulled his hair from its low ponytail and combed his fingers through his green locks. He then readjusted his long hair to be in a high ponytail, that way only the ends would get wet. The then slid on a pair of swim trunks that were a deep maroon color. He opted to walk down barefoot and exited the bathroom. The deep crimson still dusting his cheeks. When he entered the room, he cleared his throat and the two females turned to look at him.

"I will be heading down now, though I fully expected you two to have already left."

"Sorry! I just found my shoes probably two seconds before you walked out."

"Ah, I see."

The frazzled rune mage then turned and began to walk to the room's door. Lucy and Levy were close behind, Lucy's own cheeks lightly dusted with a bright red color. Once the mages were out in the hall, Levy skipped ahead and left Lucy and Freed alone. Freed began to act frazzled being near the blonde mage. Lucy sighed next to him and spoke softly.

"You heard everything Levy said, didn't you?"

"It's quite possible I did not hear everything."

"But you did hear enough."

"Well…yes."

"Sorry about that. She can be pushy when she wants something?"

"And what exactly did she want from that line of questioning?"

Lucy just shrugged and the duo continued to walk to the hot springs. After a few moments Freed stopped and looked at Lucy. Lucy stopped herself wondering what was up with the rune mage. His voice was soft as he spoke.

"Did you mean it?"

"Did I mean what?"

"What you said, about me."

"Yes, though I didn't expect you to hear it."

"Is it bad that I did?"

"Depends on what happens from here. If things become super awkward, then I would count that as at least not good."

Freed chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Not good would definitely define it. How about instead of overthinking it and making things awkward, we simply get to know each other. I know that right now we are more like slim acquaintances."

"Freed Justine! Are you asking to be my friend?!"

Both mages chuckled at the blondes high spirited antics.

"I suppose I am."

"Well I don't see why we can't manage at least that much."

The two mages smirked and continued their journey to the hot springs. It only took them another minute to reach their destination. They entered an outdoor enclosed space with slightly heated air. In the center of the enclosed area was a large natural hot spring. Around the outside of the large spring was several benches for cooling off. Along the back wall of the enclosement was small trees giving a more natural feel. Levy was already enjoying the warmth of the water when Lucy and Freed entered the hot springs. The three mages talked and laughed for a couple of hours before deciding it was time to eat dinner. They quickly dried off and returned to their room to change back into normal clothes. Levy once again decided to change first, while Lucy and Freed waited. Freed was the first to break the silence.

"I was thinking of going out instead of ordering in room service like we have for the past several days. Its not often missions are located in Crocus."

"I think that's a great idea! When I lived here for a year there was always great food pretty much everywhere."

"I didn't know you used to live in Crocus."

"Yeah I was a reporter for Sorcerer Weekly for a bit."

"That had to be quite the experience."

"It was, but nothing compared to being in Fairy Tail."

Just then Levy came out of the bathroom in a cute mid-thigh length turtleneck dress. She had her tell tale headband and light brown sandals. Lucy plopped down on her and Lucy's bed with a smile.

"Hey Lulu, didn't you tell me once that you wanted to try a pasta place here?"

"Yeah! It's called Angelio's. I've been dying to try it."

"I wouldn't mind pasta myself."

"Then let's go after we all get changed. Speaking of I call the bathroom next!"

Lucy lightly jogged to the bathroom and closed the door. She changed into a short white miniskirt with ruffles and a sleeveless royal blue turtleneck shirt that hugged her form. The shirt had gold designs around it. She then slipped on her belt that had her keys and whip. Lastly, she put on her white knee-high boots. She let her hair out of its loose bun, deciding to leave it down for once. She exited the bathroom and Freed quickly entered it, goosebumps starting to form on his skin. He quickly changed into his normal attire and left the bathroom. The trio then made their way out of the hotel room and to the lobby of the hotel. Once they were outside of the hotel Lucy began to lead the group don the streets. It took them about twenty minutes to walk to the restaurant. When they got there, they were greeted by a bubbly hostess.

"Welcome to Angelio's! How many are in your party this evening?"

Freed was the one to answer the bubby hostess.

"There are three of us."

"Follow me please."

The hostess walked into the restaurant with the three hungry mages following at a comfortable distance. They were led to a booth with a candle in the center of it. The hostess placed down silverware in front of them and smiled.

"Your waiter will be here momentarily. I hope you have a wonderful meal!"

The hostess then turned and returned to her hostess station. It was only two minutes before their waiter came up to the table.

"Thank you so much for choosing to dine with us this evening. My name is Alex. I will be your waiter this evening. Have we all decided what we would like to drink?"

"I would like a strawberry daiquiri please."

"I would like an orange soda, if its not too much trouble."

"I'll take a class of hot tea with honey and lemon, if you would be so kind."

The waiter smiled and put three glasses on the table before filling them with ice cold water.

"Ill get your drinks out right away. Please enjoy this fresh spring water while I gather your orders. Please take your time going over the menu."

The trio looked over their menus and lightly conversed about their next destination.

"I can't wait to get to Hargeon. I have a great feeling about his mission."

"Me too Lulu. I can't wait to look at the ruins and learn everything about the people who used to live there."

"I must say I am quite interested in seeing if there is any way to advance my rune magic in those ruins. Runes are derived from ancient languages, therefore discovering a new culture can make them stronger."

Lucy put down her menu for a moment to look at Freed with a curious expression.

"I had no idea runes were derived from ancient languages. I have no idea how I missed it."

"It may be because its not common knowledge. Many people use the common translations in their runes; however I choose to use the actual languages in my magic. It makes them more difficult to dispel or alter."

"That makes sense. Levy-chan do you do the same thing?"

"No, I actually just use what I know. I don't use rune magic very often, so I don't have to worry about it as much. My magic is a little more offensive than Freed's so I don't have to worry about it being countered the same way he does."

Just then the waiter came back with their drinks. After he placed them on the table, he pulled out his notepad and began to speak in an upbeat voice.

"Thank you so much for your patience. Are you guys ready to order?"

Everyone nodded and gave the waiter their orders. After everyone had ordered the waiter left with a smile. Everyone continued to talk, especially about their plans for the next day, until the waiter came back with their food. Once the food was on the table, everyone stopped talking to be able to enjoy their meal. After their food was gone, they paid their bill and returned to their hotel room. Once they were back, they quickly got ready for bed and climbed into the warm confides of the covers. Sleep overtook the three mages easily.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Let's Go on a Mission**

The next morning had come quickly for the trio of mages. Freed was the first to rise, and he decided to take advantage of that by taking a shower before the others woke up. Lucy was the next to wake up. She heard the shower going as she started to come to consciousness and knew that Freed was already awake, mainly since Levy was still curled up next to her. She got up and went to her bag, picking out a pink tank top and khaki short shorts. She had just placed her outfit on the bed when Freed walked out of the bathroom fully dressed and with still damp hair. Lucy grabbed her clothes and wet to take her turn in the bathroom when she noticed Freed struggling to get a seemingly stubborn knot out of his hair.

"If you want, I could help you brush it out. I always find it easier to brush someone else's hair rather than my own."

"Thank you. I should have known better than to wash my hair without using my own shampoo ad conditioner. The ones they give complimentary in hotels always make it hard to manage."

"That's because they dry out your hair. Turn around and give me the brush."

Freed did as he was asked and handed Lucy the brush. Normally he wouldn't allow anyone to touch his hair, but for some reason he felt at ease with Lucy doing so. After a few minutes Lucy had skillfully, and painlessly, untangled the rest of Freed's hair. Once she was done, she handed him back the brush so he could style it and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day herself. Freed let out a breath once Lucy was in the bathroom. The feeling of someone else brushing his hair had been odd at first, then it turned comforting. He had to stop himself several times from letting out a content sigh during the process. Out of nowhere Levy spoke.

"You guys would be totally adorable together you know."

Freed choked on some of his salvia when Levy said that and began to cough. Levy started to lightly chuckle before going to her bag to grab her own clothes for the day. After a couple of minutes Freed caught his breath and began to have a deep crimson over his features. Just as he had resumed breathing, Lucy exited the bathroom and Levy promptly found herself in it. Lucy looked over to the rune mage with a smile before going over to her bag and making sure all her belongings were packed. As she did so she spoke to Freed.

"What time does the train leave for Hargeon?"

"It leaves in an hour."

"We should probably grab a quick bite before we check out then, that way we have something on our stomachs before we leave."

"That sounds like a wise idea. I'll head down to the dining area now then."

Freed grabbed his bag and left the room, grateful that Lucy didn't mention anything about the heat that had settled on his face. Lucy was humming to herself, zipping up the zipper on her bag when Levy came out of the bathroom water still dripping from her blue locks.

"Hey Lulu, where did Freed go?"

"Down to the dining area to grab some breakfast. We're going to eat here then head right to the train station."

"Food sounds wonderful right now. I still have to pack up my stuff though, so why don't you head down and I'll meet up with you guys when I'm done."

"Sure."

Lucy grabbed her bad and headed out the door of the hotel room, but not before noticing the victorious smirk of Levy's face. Lucy began to wonder what the blue haired mage had planned. Some days she could be worse than Mirajane. After it had become quite clear that her and Natsu would never be a thing, mainly due to the celestial mage seeing him as a brother figure, Levy had jumped on every opportunity to hook her up with any male that strode by. She had been on this mission of hers for going on six months, and quite honestly Lucy had given up trying to dissuade her. Just as her thoughts were coming to an end, she reached the dining area of the hotel. She spotted Freed from across the room and made her way over there. Freed was reading a book and absent mindedly bringing food to his mouth. Lucy smiled at the sight and gently sat her bag down at the table before going over to the buffet ad piling up her plate. By the time she brought her plate over to the table it was piled high with fruit, eggs, bacon, and mini muffins. In her opposite hand was some orange juice. She began to quietly eat before the silence got to her.

"So, what are you reading?"

"Research on underwater archaeological sites and their dangers."

"Sounds handy. I'll let you read; I don't want to distract you from something important."

"You're not disturbing me in the slightest."

"That's good to hear. So, what are some of the things we need to look out for? I've never been to an underwater ruin before."

"The main thing is structural collapses due to erosion. However, there may be some magical safety features that are still operational from the people who used to live there."

"Wouldn't the water pressure give us ample time to escape a collapse?"

"Under normal circumstances yes, at least by a few more seconds than without. However, it is very common for magical items to be used to give the site a breathable environment."

"Oh. That's actually pretty cool."

"I'm unaware of which one we will be thrust into. I'll have to ask the archaeological society when we arrive."

Lucy just nodded and began to focus solely on her food. After a couple of minutes Levy popped her bubbly self into the dining area and grabbed a plate before joining the other mages at the table. Everyone finished their food rather quickly once Levy arrived. Once everyone was finished eating, the trio left for the train station. They still had about fifteen minutes before the train disembarked for Hargeon when they arrived at the train station. Freed went and purchased tickets while Levy and Lucy waited in front of the train. Freed got the tickets and returned to the girls just as the train conductor called boarding. The trio quickly made it to their seats and got comfortable, the train leaving shortly thereafter. The four-hour train ride was uneventful, all three mages relieved at not having to deal with a motion sick dragon slayer.

It was mid afternoon when the train finally pulled into the Hargeon train station. The trio of mages stepped off the train and Lucy smiled as the wind whipped around her. The crisp sea filled air wisped on that wind, and the sound of waves could be heard even from the inner-city train station that they had just arrived at. Memories of Lucy's first meeting with Natsu flooded her mind and she smiled at the memories that ended up bringing her to Fairy Tail. Lucy looked over to her companions and pointed down the street that the false Salamander had tried using charm magic on her.

"Down that street is where I met Natsu for the first time. This brings back some great memories!"

"I remember you telling me that story Lulu. Wasn't that fake Salamander by almost drowned by Aquarius?"

"Sure was, but end of the day its Natsu who beat him. Even if he did destroy the entire port at the same time."

Freed blanched at the thought of Natsu's destruction and began to walk down the opposite way towards a beautiful cathedral style building in the center of the city.

"The archaeological society headquarters are this way. Let us go and see what the details of our mission are."

The other two mages nodded and followed Freed to the archeological society. It only took them about five minutes to arrive at the intricate building. Once they entered the ancient, yet sturdy looking doors they were immediately greeted by a man who looked like he came right out of a beginner explorers manual. He was in khaki shorts and a khaki short sleeve button up shirt with a safari hit under his arm. The man's hair was starting to gray and he had a bright smile.

"Welcome to the archeological society! You three must be the talented mages from Fairy Tail."

Levy and Lucy smiled while Freed answered the archeologist.

"Yes, sir we are. All of us are quite excited to take this specific mission on."

"Wonderful! If you all would follow me, I will explain the details of the mission. While we're at it I'll give you a tour of the society."

The already bright smiles of Lucy and Levy got even brighter. The three mages readily followed the archaeologist as he started to describe the mission. They passed by several artifacts that made the three mages eyes gleam.

"Your mission is fairly simple. There is a ruin about twenty miles offshore that was discovered about three and a half months ago after a meteor fell there. We have so far been unable to reach the ruins with anything other than geothermal recording devices. This is mainly due to the sea creatures that have made the ruins their home, however there is some secondary issues."

"Such as?"

"None of our divers have been able to dive to the ocean floor. We don't have any mages in the society, but we suspect its due to magical interference. That's where you come in. We want you to explore the ruin for any traces of magic. If any are present, we would like you to either identify the type or remove it, however only remove the magic if it is safe to do so. Lastly and most importantly we need you to determine if the ruins are safe to excavate."

"Sounds simple enough. I'm assuming you want us to do the initial exploration as well."

"Yes, however be careful of non-magical traps as well. We are currently unaware of which civilization this ruin is from."

At that the tour came to an end and the archeologist turned on his heel to face the mages. A smile set on his face as he addressed the three mages one last time before sending them on their way.

"We will of course provide any equipment you may need for this mission. It is very exciting that we are finally able to explore these ruins. Finding ruins that have been fully submerged like this is very rare. I'll meet you of the shore of the ruins tomorrow at nine in the morning with supplies for your initial dive."

"We will see you there then. We should depart to plan out the initial dive."

The archeologist nodded and the three mages turned and left the building. All three were tingling with excitement at the prospect of being the first people to enter the ruins. The buzz they felt from the mission followed them all the way to the seaside hotel they decided to stay in. All three mages were thinking the same thing, that the next day was going to be a thrill.


End file.
